Neurosurgery is surgery of the central nervous system which requires very delicate tissue to be dissected, retracted and possibly removed. As those skilled in the art will recognize, absorbent, protective pads of material, which are soaked in an anticoagulant or saline solution, are used to absorb or retain blood and other brain fluids that tend to accumulate during this dissection period of the surgery. These absorbent material pads conventionally utilize a length of sterilized string, twine, or the like for easy removal of the fluid-soaked absorbent pad from the surgical site.
As those skilled in the art will further recognize, neurosurgeons commonly use various types of medical instruments or bayonette-type forceps which include elongated members for allowing very precise manipulation of small objects and precise operating procedures. As such, the attached string or the like often used for location of the absorbent pad must be made of such a material that it is easily located and grasped by a conventional pair of forceps so that the neurosurgeon can remove the absorbent pad from the surgical area.
As neurosurgery is a procedure where efficient technique is critical and time is particularly important, it is necessary to completely prepare and set up all supplies and accessories that are required by the neurosurgeon prior to surgery. For this reason, it is common for the operating room nurse or assistant to set up the absorbent pads in such a way as to allow the neurosurgeon to quickly grasp with the forceps the particular absorbent pads that are required as needed. Thus, it is known to those skilled in the art to utilize a substantially planar plate to layout the absorbent pads prior to surgery.
This plate is commonly manufactured from a plastic material and is essentially a flat rectangular plate including spaced elongate ribs that protrude from one side of the plate. These ribs are utilized to separate the absorbent pads from each other. In addition, it is known to simply use sterilized pieces of cardboard, small basins, or to simply place the absorbent materials out on conventional surgical trays. The absorbent pads come in a variety of different sizes, lengths and shapes for use in conjunction with different areas of the surgical site which have different space limitations.
It is known that these conventional means for supporting the various absorbent pads cause special problems for the neurosurgeon during surgery. Specifically, the absorbent pads of various shapes and size must be laid out in such a fashion as to be easily viewed and grasped by the neurosurgeon during surgery. Application of the absorbent pads on a flat surface situated adjacent the operating table does not provide the most easily viewable location of the absorbent pads. This placement is not ergonomically acceptable to neurosurgeons who must grasp these pads with only the use of forceps or medical instruments.
In addition, it is known that the long attachment strings that are required with the absorbent materials become tangled and intertwined with each other if the particular support plate that is used to support the absorbent pads is too short or crowds the absorbent materials closely together. Lastly, the current support plates do not afford any way of holding or easily accessing the various types of forceps which are used in conjunction with the absorbent pads. Thus, the neurosurgeon or his assistant must often search through the operating equipment tray for the particular forceps used to insert and remove the absorbent pads from the surgical site.
These and other problems associated with the prior art are solved by the accessory tray of the present invention.